A Dream Deferred

A Dream Deferred In life people set up many goals in which they believe will make them happy once they conquer them. Some of the goals can be easily accomplished, while others may take years to deal with like your dreams. In the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes the subject of dealing with your dreams is viewed in an honest and prevailing way. The poem uses similes to compare a lost or lingering dream with many descriptive and negative images.

The poem starts off asking, "what happens to a dream deferred?" Already inquiring ones mind to the subject at hand. But what does the author mean by a deferred dream. Langston Hughes refers to a "deferred dream" as a dream of which has been postponed or put off for some time. This may resemble a dream that has been lost or a dream that is becoming further away from a reality everyday that passes. Next Hughes asks, "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" This simile associates the dream with a dried up raisin. Claiming a dream not reached will slowly start to wilt away until no more damage can be done.

Following the dream to dying raisin simile is yet another simile. The poem proceeds saying "Or fester like a sore- and then run?" This line of imagery compares the dream with a festering sore. Saying the unlived dream is in a state of deterioration and will constantly sit there like an itchy sore on your arm. Exposed to the rest of the world and always bringing your attention to it. Then the sore runs away, disappearing. The unlived dream will also disappear as time goes on.

Uncapher 2 The next couple of lines read "Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?" This negative imagery continues the slow process of the dream becoming a further mess. The smell of rotten meat is a horrible smell, which many people try to stay away from. The individual with the unlived dream will also want to stay away from the rotten meat or unlived dream. This clarifies the personal conflict in...